On November 7, Ukraine and the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) signed a grant and loan agreement under the World Bank’s Ukraine Agriculture Recovery Inclusive Support Emergency (ARISE) Project.

The funding for the project consists of a USD 230 million World Bank loan from the Advancing Needed Credit Enhancement for Ukraine (ADVANCE Ukraine) Trust Fund, supported by the Government of Japan, and a USD 320 million grant from the Ukraine Relief, Recovery, Reconstruction and Reform Multi-Donor Trust Fund (URTF).

The project aims to support agricultural producers’ access to finance through concessional loans and grants.

USD 500 million of the total amount will be directed to finance the Affordable Loans 5-7-9% Program in 2023-2024 with a focus on agricultural enterprises. The funds will help reduce the cost of borrowing for farmers despite the war. This component of the project will be implemented by the Business Development Fund.

Agricultural producers will also have the opportunity to receive grants, for which about USD 50 million is provided under ARISE.

“Agriculture is suffering significant losses from the aggressive war of russia, which has negative consequences for food nutrition security both in Ukraine and around the world. The signing of the agreements between Ukraine and the World Bank is extremely timely and necessary to ensure uninterrupted access to financing for Ukrainian agricultural business. The ARISE project will help thousands of Ukrainian farmers to continue their production in the face of war,” said Minister of Finance of Ukraine Sergii Marchenko.